LEWISBURG, Pa. – The No. 25 Saint Francis water polo team was defeated by a pair of ranked opponents Sunday, falling to No. 7 Michigan and No. 21 Bucknell.

Freshman Emese Szucs led the Red Flash offense on the afternoon with six goals in the two contests.

#7 MICHIGAN 20, #25 SAINT FRANCIS 3

HOW IT HAPPENED
-Michigan keeps SFU off the board in the first quarter, only allowing one goal from freshman Emese Szucs.
-Michigan ended the first quarter with a 6-1 lead over the Red Flash.
-Quarter two, SFU continued the fight, but found it hard to find the back of the net in front of a tough Wolverine defense.
-Szucs found the back of the net for SFU's second goal to make it 12-2. Emese was SFU's only goal scorer thus far.
-The second quarter came to an end as Michigan was able to add one more before the buzzer sounded making it 13-2 Michigan.
-The Wolverine's added three more and SFU was not able to convert, to make it 16-2 in the middle of the third quarter.
- Sophomore Taylor Halbauer sinks the third goal of the day for SFU to make it 16-3 Michigan in the third quarter.
-Michigan added one more, making it 17-3 to end the third.
-SFU was not able to make a goal in the fourth quarter as Michigan added three more to make it a final score of 20-3 Michigan.
 
STATS/NOTES
-SFU tallied three goals, two coming from Emese Szucs and one from Taylor Halbauer for the only scorers of the matchup.
-The Red Flash only tallied three exclusions on the day.
-Sophomore Heather Jacobson started in front of the cage for SFU and split time with junior Rosalinda Rivera during this matchup.

#21 BUCKNELL 11, #25 SAINT FRANCIS 8

HOW IT HAPPENED
-Bucknell strikes first in the first to take the lead 1-0 after three minutes of play.
-Taylor Halbauer finds the back of the net for SFU's first goal of the game to tie it up 1-1.
-The Bison were able to notch one more to take the lead again, 2-1 to end the first quarter.
-Bucknell stretches the lead to two half way through the second quarter to make it 3-1 Bucknell.
-Another Bison goal forces an SFU 30 second timeout, now 4-1 Bucknell as the second quarter winds down.
-Bucknell goes on a 5-0 run, but not before an Emese Szucs goal cuts the lead 6-2. Bucknell still lead by four.
-The Red Flash were not able to hold off the Bison as they add two more heading into halftime, 8-2 Bucknell.
-The Bison add two more to make it 10-2 with a little over 4 minutes left in the third quarter.
-Junior Julia Bradford finds the open corner and makes it a 11-3 game with a minute and a half left in the third quarter.
-Another Red Flash goal, this time from Halbauer to cut the lead by seven, making it 11-4 Bucknell for the third quarter of play.
-Bradford gets the first goal of the final period, and her second of the game, to make it 11-5 Bucknell.
-Szucs gets another to find the back of the net, as SFU continues to fight off the Bison, making it 11-6 Bucknell.
-Another Red Flash goal from Szucs cuts the lead once again as the Bison were not able to score in the fourth round thus far. 11-7 Bucknell with 2.5 minutes left in the fourth.
-Another Szucs goal makes it 11-8 in the fourth after a hard-fought battle by the Red Flash, and nothing from the Bison to conclude the final period.
 
STATS/NOTES
-Leading scorers for this matchup came from Szucs with four and Bradford with two. Halbauer as well added two to round out SFU's scoring efforts. 
-Szucs, Bradford and sophomore Addison Williams were all accredited with an assist each.
-Sophomore Madeleine Voss drew two of the total four drawn exclusions for the Red Flash.
-The Red Flash took a total of 18 shots vs. the Bison, a .444 shot percentage.
-Junior Rebecca Pendleton and Rivera recorded a steal each for the Red Flash.
-Rivera started in front of the net for SFU playing 24 total minutes and split time with Jacobson who finished off the match.

UP NEXT
The Red Flash will head to Emmitsburg, MD. for their last two games of the regular season as they take on Bucknell University once again and a matchup by another familiar CWPA competitor, Mount St. Mary's on Saturday at 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm.

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To learn more about Saint Francis University, visit francis.edu.